It would appear, to the discerning eye, that I’m on a bent for
strange names. And why not? KWARDY is an eye catching name, is
it not? It is, in fact, a Slavic word meaning ‘hard’, and it’s
the word from which we derive our word to describe a mineral we
call ‘Quartz’.

Quartz is an ancient stone…used as adornment dating back to
prehistoric man. We’re talking here circa 75,000 B.C. folks, for
those of you who might still have the illusion that gems as
jewelry is a thing of modern times.

Ancient Egyptian records mention a stone called “thehen” which
is supposedly a quartz-like material used to make amulets. There
is a pristine clarity in quartz which held it in high regard by
the ancient Greeks and Romans. Fact is, our word for 'crystal’
comes from the Greek word ‘krystallos’, which means ice. And
mythology has it that the gemstone quartz was once water which
was frozen by the gods to remain, into eternity, ice. Now then, a
quick digression here my friends. Though I find that
tells of the mythology of the gods turning the water into eternal
ice, I can find no record of it in any of my mythology books. I
wouldn’t mind a little guidance here.

Quartz is truly amazing in the vastness of it geographical
appeal. It was used and carved in Europe during the Renaissance
for royalty. The Japanese and the Chinese used it. The Mayans and
the Aztecs used it. In the sixteenth century, the stuff was being
mined in Czechoslovakia. We’re talking from one end of the world
to the other. And that’s a bit astounding.

There’s so much to say about this stone that I’m a little afraid
I’ll bore you. So I’ll just give you a few “Tidbits”:

–Amethysts were found in royal crowns and bishop’s rings back
in medieval times. An amethyst sits in the British royal scepter.
–Beads of smokey quartz, dating back to 3100 B.C., were found in
the remains of the Sumerians and Egyptians --Navajo Indians used
it for decoration. --The Scots wore it and called it “cairngorm”.
–Rose Quartz was used by the Assyrians. --The Japanese regarded
quartz as the perfect jewel. --The Cherokee Indians used it a
charm for hunting and rubbed deer blood on it to rejuvenate its
powers. --And last but not least…it is a fact, a fact I tell
you, that Quartz crystal has the ability to increase your psychic
powers.

And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.

Take care,
Benjamin Mark

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